Heba Hassan Ahmed Amer

Biography

Heba Hassan Ahmed Amer is the Curator and Head of the Education Section at the Alexandria National Museum, Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Egypt. She is responsible for designing and implementing the museum’s educational programmes and developing audience engagement initiatives for visitors of all ages. Her work focuses on connecting Egypt’s tangible and intangible heritage with contemporary issues such as sustainability, identity, and women’s empowerment, positioning the museum as an inclusive space for community learning.

Heba has developed several pioneering educational initiatives, including the Museum Ambassadors Programme, which encourages children to promote museum visits and share their experiences with their peers; Living Heritage Workshops, which link traditional crafts with heritage and women’s empowerment, highlighting the vital role of female artisans in safeguarding and transmitting traditional knowledge; and Environmental Education Programmes, such as the museum’s garden greening project and the use of eco-friendly materials.

Her efforts contributed to the Alexandria National Museum receiving the First Place Award for Museum Education (UNESCO Cairo and ICOM Egypt, 2023), as well as the Sustainability Implementation Award (2025) in recognition of programmes that integrated traditional crafts with concepts of sustainability and women’s empowerment.

In 2025, she published an article in the British Museum’s International Training Programme Newsletter titled “Empowering Women through Craft: Bridging Social Inclusion and Heritage Preservation.” The article explored her experience in using museum education as a tool for social empowerment and the preservation of intangible heritage at the Alexandria National Museum.

Heba also participated in the International Conference “Museums and Tourism Development“, held at the Oman Across Ages Museum in May 2025, where she presented a paper titled “Transforming Historical Figurines into Interactive Digital Characters” and conducted a professional workshop, “Reviving History Digitally“, focusing on integrating digital heritage and museum education within sustainable tourism practices.

Heba holds a PhD in Greco-Roman History (2022) from the Faculty of Arts, Alexandria University, where her research focuses on the cultural and artistic interactions between Egyptian society, the Ptolemies, and the Romans.

Heba is also a Visiting Lecturer at the Faculty of Archaeology and Languages, Matrouh University, where she teaches courses in archaeology, history, classical literature, and the ancient Greek and Latin languages. She integrates museum studies and ancient history in her professional practice, approaching both from a cultural and social perspective.

Heba was excited to explore a variety of museums in the UK with a particularly focus on methods of display and educational activities.  She was also keen to connect with different nationalities in the field of museums to exchange knowledge and experiences with colleagues throughout the ITP network.

At the British Museum

During her time at the British Museum, Heba was based in the Department of Greece and Rome and her UK partner placement was spent at Tyne & Wear Archives and Museum.

Heba’s participation on the International Training Programme was generously supported by the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust.